Faces of a continent
These superb pictures taken by Cypriot photographers show people in parts of Africa who need your help. That help is much easier to give than you may imagine.
The photographs have been compiled into a book called simply Africa, which was produced by the Cyprus branch of Doctors of the World, an international aid organisation. The pictures were taken by Cypriot photographers accompanying the doctors who had gone to Kenya to help launch a hospital. The book is now on sale at bookshops priced €30, and all proceeds will help fund the group’s future schemes in Africa.
These images are not overtly distressing, like so much of the television footage we have become accustomed to over the years from African disaster zones. But all too apparent is the poverty and lack of opportunity in a continent where one in six African children die before the age of five, and nearly two million children under the age of 14 are HIV positive.
The Cyprus group was founded in 1995 to supply medical and humanitarian aid to those in need. On a global scale, branches of Doctors of the World in Europe, America and Asia all focus on providing aid for countries caught up in war, conflict, poverty and natural disasters.
“While the group went out to Kenya on a special mission to help set up a hospital, they began taking pictures of life around them,” says Cyprus coordinator, Elena Papasavva. “When they returned to the island they knew they had to do something more with these striking images and decided to publish them in an attempt to reach out to the wider public.
We’re hoping it will encourage people to join the sponsorship programme we have just started to promote.”
The programme, named ‘Adopting From Afar’, aims at providing children in Zimbabwe with food, clothing, footwear, medicine and education. The scheme will run in cooperation with several orphanages in the African nation and it is hoped that it will expand to neighbouring countries in the future.
For only €20 a month, you can change the future for an orphan who is at constant risk of malnutrition, lack of clean drinking water, malaria and a host of other problems. All you need to do is to contact the Doctors of the World Cyprus and fill in the necessary sponsorship form.
“Twenty euros for us is such a small sum, but it can be a saviour for these children,” says Elena.
Africa features work from Cypriot photographers, Marina Shacolas, Andreas Vassiliou, Pavlos Vrionides and Katia Christodoulou.
Interested in ‘Adopting From Afar’?
Call 22 452390 or 7000 9990 for details on sponsorship forms. Address: Doctors of the World Cyprus, 69 Dikeni Akrita, Nicosia.
